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Fundamentals of Audio Production. Chapter Seven: Digital Audio Workstations and Computers. Digital Audio Workstations. Two types of DAW systems Sound recording and playback systems built around a computer Proprietary “desktop” designs that are self contained systems
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Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter Seven: Digital Audio Workstations and Computers Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Digital Audio Workstations • Two types of DAW systems • Sound recording and playback systems built around a computer • Proprietary “desktop” designs that are self contained systems • Descendants of the cassette multi-trackers made popular in the 1980s • Record directly to hard disk Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
“Portastudio” Cassette mult-itracker Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Computer-based DAWs • May be built around a conventional home computer or “personal computer” (PC) • Most PCs are based on a standard architecture • The computer is constructed of various subunits Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Computer-based DAWs Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Computer-based DAWs • Subunits of the computer are attached to the printed circuit board called the “motherboard” • The CPU is the computer’s “brain” and executes the calculations required to perform the various functions • Other subunits are attached to the motherboard as “daughterboards” Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Central Processor Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Daughtercards Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Computer memory • Short term storage call “random access memory (RAM) retains data only while the computer is operating • Long term data storage is accomplished using internal hard drives, or external storage devices such as solid state drives (compact flash, secure digital, etc.) Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
RAM Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Hard drives • Hard drives use the same magnetic recording principles used in tape • Hard drives are constructed by fixing oxide to a polished glass or aluminum platter • Hard drives contain multiple platters attached to a common spindle • The tiny recording and playback heads move across the disk surface without touching it Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Hard drives Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Hard drives Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Optical storage • Compact disks (CD) and digital versatile disks (DVD) offer permanent external storage • Optical storage has the advantage of being less volatile than magnetic storage • Optical storage can be very high capacity Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Connecting peripherals • Peripheral or outboard devices may be connected to the computer • Various protocols exist to connect peripherals • Parallel and Serial Buses • Universal Serial Bus (USB) • IEEE-1394 (FireWire) • Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) • Sony/Philips Digital Interface (S/PDIF) Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Connecting peripherals • Parallel and serial are older systems (legacy) that do not offer high enough throughput for most audio devices • USB 2.0 provides fast data transfer - suitable for audio data • IEEE 1394 offers high data transfer capacity and is “hot swapable” • SCSI and S/PDIF are less common and used only for audio devices Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Peripherals and interfaces • Some peripherals are designed to allow audio inputs and outputs to be easily connected to the computer using standard audio connectors • Other interface devices allow the user to have the same “tactile” experience as using a mixing console Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
USB audio interface Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
User interface Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
User interface Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
User interface Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Software • BIOS – basic input-output system • Permanent instructions on a chip • Called “firmware” • Instructions for organizing data flow • Drivers – small software scripts that allow the computer to communicate with various hardware Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Software • Operating systems (OS) provide a consistent software platform for application software • Most OS are single-user multitasking • OS present a simple (text or graphic) system for the user to operate the software and hardware Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7
Software • Audio recording and editing applications are covered in detail in Chapter 8 Fundamentals of Audio Production Chapter 7